Commissioner Hirst Agrees to Delay Departure from City Government to Coordinate Reform Group

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced today that he has
asked Martha K. Hirst, the Commissioner of the Department of Citywide
Administrative Services, to chair a Workforce Reform Task Force that will
propose reforms to empower City employees and reduce the rules and procedures
that restrict their performance. Hirst, who has served as Commissioner since
2002, had planned on leaving City service this summer after fulfilling the
commitment she made to the Mayor to serve a full second term, but agreed to
Mayor Bloomberg’s request to stay on board and chair the reform task force after
stepping down as Commissioner next month.

“After nearly 30 years of service to
the people of New York City, few people deserve the
opportunity to look for new challenges outside City government more than
Martha,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “She has been a superb Commissioner and a great
partner in our efforts to ensure City government is not just running smoothly,
but is constantly improving and finding new ways to better the lives of all New
Yorkers. Before she leaves City service, I’ve asked Martha to take on just one
more major project for us.”

“It has been an honor to serve as
Commissioner for eight-and-a-half years under Mayor Bloomberg,” said
Commissioner Hirst. “He challenges agency heads to take initiative and get
results, and lends his support at every turn. I will always be grateful to him
for giving me the privilege of leading nearly 2,000 dedicated colleagues at the
Department of Citywide Administrative Services. Given the opportunities I have
had to work hard to improve government and to make a real difference, I couldn’t
be more fortunate, and I am proud that the Mayor has asked me to lead this
important reform effort.”

In her new role, Commissioner Hirst
will serve as a special advisor to Deputy Mayor for Operations Stephen Goldsmith
and will chair the Workforce Reform Task Force, a working group that will
formulate possible legislative and policy reforms to empower City employees,
including revising or eliminating rules and procedures that restrict
performance. The task force will issue recommendations in the fall.

At the Department of Citywide
Administrative Services, Commissioner Hirst advanced the transformation of Civil
Service administration, oversaw the creation of an on-line application system
and established two computerized testing centers. She crafted, secured approval
of and activated a five-year plan to modernize the City’s job classification
system, while complying with legal mandates, strengthening the Division of
Citywide Equal Employment Opportunity, and establishing meaningful public-private partnerships
with the New York Blood Center and the 100-Year Association to foster the
volunteerism amongst of City employees and highlight their service achievements.
Under her direction, the department led City government in small purchase
procurements with minority- and women-owned businesses.

During her tenure as Commissioner,
the Department of Citywide Administrative Services constructed the City’s three
Family Justice Centers, and managed renovations of City facilities and secured
sites for the construction of City facilities, including: the Public Safety Answering Centers in
the Bronx and Brooklyn; the new Police Academy in Queens; the 121st
Police Precinct on Staten Island; and major headquarters consolidations for the
Departments of Cultural Affairs, Corrections, Education, Health and
Transportation. Through an aggressive program to maximize surplus City property,
the department sold 318 parcels at auction – producing $92 million; turned over
666 parcels to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for
affordable housing; turned over 781 parcels to the Department of Parks and
Recreation to create open space; and, just last month, secured City and State
legislative approval to sell small surplus parcels to adjoining homeowners
across the City’s. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services generated
more than $15 million in savings through lease audits, renegotiations and
cancellations during her tenure.

To help meet the PlaNYC goal of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions from City buildings by 30 percent by 2017,
Commissioner Hirst created an expanded Energy Management Division, which has
completed energy benchmarking of the 2,790 largest City-owned buildings, started
more than 200 energy retrofit projects, and secured $80 million in Federal
stimulus funding. Through targeted vehicle purchasing practices, Commissioner
Hirst helped transform the City’s vehicle fleet into the greenest public sector
fleet in the country.

She began her career in City government as a housing policy and
legislative analyst at Department of Housing Preservation and Development. She
holds a Masters in Urban Planning from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public
Service at New York University, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in American
History and Urban Studies from New
York University.